


for real

by rime



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Obliviousness, Valentine's Day, akira's got Plans, ann is a Pal, at least adapted from a canon scene i guess, can't it be both?, morgana: jackass or Bro? you be the judge, probably. probably it can be both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 07:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11270886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rime/pseuds/rime
Summary: He also looked different. Kinda... domestic, Ryuji thought, blinking rapidly. He was wearing the olive coffee-stained apron he always wore, the one that he’d always thought would have looked nice on a cute girl, probably, but today for no reason it seemed kinda… flattering on him?“Something wrong?” Akira asked, and Ryuji picked up his entire train of thought and shoved it very firmly out of mind.Ryuji’s got nowhere to go on Valentines. Things take a turn. (Based on what happens if you turn down all the girls, oh my god.)





	for real

_ >hey come hang at leblanc! _

 

Ryuji blinked. Several times.

 

 _ >oh what  
_ _you aint got valentines plans?_

 _> nah haha, not unless you come over_ 

_ >dudeeeeeeeee _

_ >so was that a yes or? _

_ >already on it sucka _

  

He’d been on it before Akira texted him, too. Yeah, he’d made his way to the Shibuya platform without a care in the world, and pretty much just when the compartment doors closed he’d remembered what godforsaken day it was and panicked -- _shit shit shit, Akira’s totally got plans, he’s prolly busy with some girl_ right now _and_ \-- that was when his phone had buzzed. Incredibly convenient, but hey, he wasn’t complaining.  

Obviously Akira could learn exactly none of that. What kind of loser was so far off the girls’ radar that he straight up _forgot_ about Valentines?

He dawdled in the Super 7 long enough to buy something out of obligation. The cashier clucked at him with pity and slipped him a chocolate square with his pack of Jagariko. 

_Just great._

Akira would know how to cheer him up. He always did. That thought had him bounding towards Leblanc with his bag on his shoulder and a lopsided grin on his face. When he burst into the cafe the familiar fragrances of coffee and curry assailed him.

“Sup, dude?” 

“Not much,” Akira said. “You’re earlier than expected.”

Sunlight gleamed brightly off his glasses and made it impossible to read his expression. As if Akira needed help looking inscrutable.

“Nothing gets by you,” Ryuji said with a groan.

Maybe it was just him, but… Akira seemed a little off-kilter today. Like he was... scheming, or something? That was _totally_ it. He had a crafty air about him, the same one he took on in Safe Rooms while planning their next moves. Maybe he had some new Star Forneus tricks up his sleeve. He wouldn’t put that past him, the bastard.

He also looked different. Kinda... domestic, Ryuji thought, blinking rapidly. He was wearing the olive coffee-stained apron he always wore, the one that he’d always thought would have looked nice on a cute girl, probably, but today for no reason it seemed kinda… flattering on him?

“Something wrong?” Akira asked, and Ryuji picked up his entire train of thought and shoved it very firmly out of mind.

“You gotta do this even on Valentine’s Day?” he said in disbelief.  

“I like making coffee.” Akira’s face was impassive. “Sojiro said I could lock up any time.”  

“Where’s Mona?”

“Didn’t want to be part of this ‘loser’s meeting.’”  

Ryuji spluttered with indignation. “He _said that_?! That stupid son of a --”

Akira stared at him intently. Right _._ He and the cat were pretty much best friends, after all. Ryuji relented.  

“I mean... guess he ain’t _wrong_ ,” he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Could Akira actually _agree_ with Morgana? An image of the both of them, chatting and laughing, swam hazily into his mind, and holy shit was he ever not going to be jealous of a _cat._

 _“Anyway,”_ Ryuji said, with a forcefulness that startled them both. He winced. “Anyway! Whatcha wanna do? Ya wanna go somewhere? Maybe go for a run?”

Akira looked doubtful. “It’s kind of cold.”

He couldn’t argue with that. It was _freezing_ for February in Tokyo; it’d snowed all through last week, and it was supposed to snow _again_ today, which actually had him psyched ‘cause he _loved_ running in the stuff, but Akira wasn’t really one for outside jogs in the best of weather.  

“True, yeah. Let’s just hang here?”

“Whatever’s good with you, really,” said Akira. “Let me close up shop.” 

“Take your time, yeah? I brought some new manga.” Hopefully Akira would be as psyched as he was to check out these new volumes. _Man_ this afternoon was gonna be great. “You down to read or what?” 

Akira slid him a steaming mug over the counter in response.

“Aw man, dude, don’t _serve_ me this stuff, why,” Ryuji groaned, even as he obligingly reached for it.

“You like it,” said Akira.

 _“Like_ is a little strong, dontcha think?” he complained. “Dunno if I’ve ever finished a mug.”

“You’re growing to.”

Ryuji had to concede he might be right on that front. He hadn’t thought he’d ever be able to detect any flavors in this pour-over stuff besides _bitter_ , _really bitter,_ and _I wouldn’t make even Akechi drink this_ but lately he’d been able to detect warm, nutty notes in the complex aroma of Akira’s coffee, and the thought encouraged him.

He wouldn’t have bothered getting used to the stuff if Akira hadn’t cared so damn much about it. That was the thing about Akira: you just couldn’t refuse him, or at least Ryuji couldn’t, and if he cared so much, then _fine,_ he could be bothered to drink the damn coffee. No skin off his back.

“Whatever,” he grumbled, stubbornly staring into the mug.

It _did_ smell pretty good.

He inhaled deeply, savoring the smells: spices, maybe, and... something he didn’t usually associate with coffee. Ryuji frowned. It kinda reminded him of… _curry?_ Was that even a thing coffee could remind you of? Whatever it was, it was most definitely enticing. He breathed deeply once more.

“What do you think?” said a voice next to his ear, very softly, and Ryuji almost fell over.

Akira -- jesus christ, Akira had come out from behind the counter and crept up behind him somehow. And now he was _leaning_ on Ryuji, lazily resting his chin in Ryuji’s hair, what the _hell_ was going on -- 

 _I can’t take this._ He jumped out of his seat.

“What the _hell_?!” he demanded, staring at him like he’d seen a ghost. He could feel his cheeks smarting.

“I must have tripped,” Akira said. His recovery was _unreal_ ; he’d just leapt away like it was _nothing._ Like a weird, inscrutable cat.

_“For real?!”_

Akira said nothing, but his eyes glittered with a light that made Ryuji so uncomfortable he swiped the mug off the counter in response and downed it in one gulp.

Bitterness. Spice.

Something else.

 

* * *

 

The afternoon was just as enjoyable as he’d imagined.  

Time always flew with Akira around. This was how they whiled their Sundays away, with manga and coffee and chatter. Ryuji liked to blaze through chapters in search of highlights; Akira read more slowly, stirring his coffee spoon with one finger and pausing to work on crosswords which Ryuji had never pretended to be interested in or helpful at. Not that Akira seemed to mind. Long periods of silence stretched between them, silences which would have felt uncomfortable with anyone else but somehow felt natural as anything.

He was real lucky to have a pal like Akira. And he knew it.

So why did the whole day feel so damn _weird?_

Not weird in a _bad_ way, exactly, either. Just… weird.

It was exactly like a million Sundays they’d had before and nothing about it should have felt weird. But it _did_.

Didn’t it?

Ryuji scowled. Valentines was doing a number on him. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about _dates_ on and off this whole damn day.

Partly because what they were doing, now, felt kinda like his ideal date. Except his ideal date would feature a cute girl and not Akira, obviously. Someone playful, with fluffy hair you could tousle, prolly. And glasses, yeah, glasses seemed good. Kind and loyal, too, hopefully.

Like he’d stand a chance with someone like that.

“I can’t believe you read this stuff,” Akira commented.

“It’s good, man,” he said defensively, because it _was_. “N’ it’s not like I read it often or anything! It was just the first thing on the shelf.”

Which was actually true. He hadn’t paid attention to what he’d picked up at Taiheido, just grabbed whatever looked good from New Arrivals _,_ which left him with a weird amalgam of shounen and shoujo and detective shit in his bag. __And _Attack on Tokyo_ was pretty good, but it was _Kosei High School Host Club_ that really got his attention, goofy subplots, thwarted confessions and all _._ He’d spent all afternoon devouring the pages without shame and secretly being thankful no one but Akira was watching. Though it would probably go a long way towards rehabilitating his bad-boy image at school if people at Shujin knew...

Nah. Not worth it.

“Mm.” Akira turned a page of _Tokyo,_ unhurried. “It just seems... unlike you.”

“Huh. Is it…” Ryuji didn’t really know how he planned to end that one. _Gay_ didn’t seem right. _Lame_ didn’t either. _Is it weird I like shoujo ‘cause then I’ll never bring it over ever again_ was kinda transparent, even for him.  

“It’s endearing.”

“Oh. That ain’t so bad.” He rubbed the back of his neck and tried not to look relieved.  

“Bringing over shoujo on Valentine’s, though,” Akira said thoughtfully. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to tell me something.”  

Ryuji choked.

“Dream on,” he said, kicking the booth, and Akira laughed.

 

* * *

 

Romance. 

Man.

Did Akira even think about that stuff?

Dude seemed liable to have five girlfriends just as easily as none. He’d never been able to tell which.

He guessed Akira’s presence here today was a pretty definitive answer, though. It kinda gave him a hopeful feeling when he thought about it. Like, Akira was pretty much the coolest guy around, and if he couldn’t get girls then Ryuji didn’t have a chance in hell of landing anyone. On the other hand, if Akira wasn’t worried about getting girls then maybe he didn’t need to be, either.

Or maybe he just wasn’t _trying?_ Ryuji groaned. This was gonna give him a headache.

“You’re spacing out,” Akira said. “Something on your mind?”

He’d rather die than cop to what. “Nah. Sorry. You were saying?”

“You’re not seeing anyone?”

“Wh -- ? Dude. We _just_ went over this,” he complained.

“Yeah, I know. Just wanted to be sure.”

“It’s that hard to believe?” he said, rubbing his temples. He’d thought it’d be real easy. “I mean, would I be here if I were?”

“You tell me.”

“Wh -- _no,_ dude! Of course not!” Ryuji gawked. Who was even this clueless? “For someone so charming, sometimes you don’t know _anything_!”

“Charming?” said Akira, with a lilt to his voice that made Ryuji’s face flare.

“Uh,” he said.

“That’s awfully kind of you.”

“No -- I mean, yeah, no shit, but in like -- like an _objective_ sense, y’know,” he amended lamely. He wasn’t going to look at Akira; he could imagine the quirk of his lips just fine. “I mean… we’ve all seen you negotiate with Shadows, and, uh. Talk to girls. And things.”

Somehow this explanation still didn’t seem satisfying.

“Like, _I’m_ not charmed,” he said, and licked his lips, which suddenly felt very dry. When he looked up Akira wasn’t looking at him anymore (thank god) but he was still smiling, which made Ryuji’s chest contract uncomfortably. He felt around for something, a distraction, _anything_ , and landed on the unhappy square in his pocket.

"Oh, but… I was buyin' somethin' at the convenience store, and the shopkeeper lady gave me this. Here, you can have it."

He lobbed it overhead, knocking the light fixture swinging, and winced even as Akira plucked the chocolate out of thin air with preternatural ease.

Man, so _what_ if they were Phantom Thieves, how was it possible for _anyone_ to look this cool all the time, what the hell.

“Is this a confession?” Akira said evenly.

Ryuji’s mind went blank.

“What?”

“You know. ‘I l-like you, Akira,’” Akira imitated, gratuitously tripping over syllables in an uncomfortably accurate impression of flustered Ryuji, did he really sound like that, dear _god_ , “ ‘or maybe like is a little strong, but I -- I --’”

_Is it WHAT?!_

“Aw dude, _hell no!!!"_

Why had Akira even needed to say that?! It was _so obviously not a confession!_

It was probably a good thing Akira started laughing before he could blurt out anything else in response. His heart was racing in a way he couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“I’m sorry,” Akira said finally, once he’d regained an ounce of composure. “I really enjoyed your reaction.”

“S’fine,” he said glumly.

“You looked alarmed,” said Akira. “You still do.”

“Nah,” said Ryuji. “I mean -- yeah -- I mean --” And Akira was laughing again, a warm, throaty laugh that sent shivers down his spine.

Ryuji wasn’t much of an aesthetics guy -- he left that shit to Yusuke -- but the lighting from the stained-glass light _things_ was all soft and cast little coloured pools of light on Akira, pastel pinks and yellows playing across his cheeks and throwing his features into sharp relief. His head was thrown back as he laughed without restraint, a laugh Ryuji’d so rarely heard in the months of bullshit Shido had put ‘em through. He looked… really lovely like this.

 _Oh no,_ he thought, pressing his face into his hands.

“Relax. I’ve actually got some for you too,” Akira said blithely, unwrapping an unimpressive square from his own pocket. “Sojiro handed it to me earlier. Said he felt sorry.”

“That’s just like him,” Ryuji grumbled, even as he reached gratefully for the chocolate. He couldn’t believe _Akira_ was throwing him a bone here. He’d thought Akira only had the power to make things weirder. Like, _way_ weirder.

 _Ugh._ He scarfed down the chocolate without hesitation -- it wasn’t homemade, that was for sure -- and tried not to think about the Valentines he wasn’t having.

He was far too lost in thought to notice the particular way Akira was regarding him just then.

“There’s a spot,” said Akira.

“A spot?”

“On your cheek.”

“Oh,” he said stupidly, and rubbed with the back of his hand. “Uh. Better now?”

From the look on Akira’s face he guessed he’d just smeared chocolate all over his face. Akira wasn’t even _trying_ to hide his amusement, the jerk. At least Ryuji didn’t think so. He couldn’t really meet the look long enough to tell for sure, not when Akira seemed to be appraising him so intently. Like he smelled weakness.

“How ‘bout now?” he said, rubbing more vigorously.

“Let me,” Akira said, reaching across the table.

 _Oh god I’ve made another mistake,_ Ryuji realized as soon as those fingertips made contact with his cheek. It wasn’t -- it wasn’t _sexual_ or anything, those fingertips rubbing his cheek gently, but the sensation was electric and _man_ he couldn’t stop his thoughts from making it weird _._ Plus there was no way he could escape the situation without saying something incredibly damning.

He had to play it cool.

But playing it cool was not Ryuji Sakamoto’s strength at the best of times.

His face was on fire. Probably his entire body, too. Escaping Shido’s Palace was nothing compared to this. Akira’s fingers were drifting much too close to his mouth; was he doing this on -- on _purpose?_

No way. There was no way, he thought, even as Akira took hold of his chin and tipped it back to gaze at Ryuji more closely. It was just Akira being his weirdly intense self, just being weird, just -- just fucking with him, right, that’s what this was -- right?

“D-did you get it?” he squeaked, in a voice he barely recognized.

“Not quite.” Akira trailed his fingers closer. Then closer still. “You’re blushing.”

Ryuji’s mouth ran dry. This was _too much._ “What are you --”

Akira pressed a single finger to Ryuji’s lips in response -- _shh_ \-- before, with an audacity Ryuji had never dreamed of, simply _pushing it into his mouth._ And then another.

_What the fuck._

Akira twisted his fingers gently, slowly pushed them in and out, and Ryuji’s eyelids fluttered shut as he let out a tiny, strangled moan, eagerly licking and sucking at Akira’s fingertips, even as some more rational part of him wondered what the _hell_ he was doing.

When he finally dared look up the sight made his heart seize; Akira’s eyes surveying him darkly from beneath those floppy curls, _fuck_ , he couldn’t deny it _now,_ could he, Akira was fucking gorgeous, and that quiet hum he let out as he withdrew his fingers was just --

They stared at each other from over the table.

Every cell in his body was going to combust.  

“I’ve gotta go,” said Ryuji, voice cracking, as he grabbed his bag in one swoop and bolted from the cafe.

 

* * *

 

A cold shower, Ryuji decided. That’s what he needed. He was going to go home and take a fucking _freezing_ shower. And then he’d sleep. Or maybe go for a really long run. It was amazing he hadn’t sprinted all the way to the station, though he might be setting records for speed-walking. It was starting to snow, too, finally, and tiny snowflakes were stinging his face merrily, as if his feelings were manifesting in the fucking atmosphere. 

He just couldn’t be alone with his thoughts, was all. He needed distraction. This walk was leaving him much too alone with them, and the images racing through his stupid skull were distracting in _entirely_ the wrong way.

Akira in that apron, smiling coyly. Akira looking down at him from beneath those long lashes as Ryuji sucked at his fingers. _But don’t stop there,_ whispered his treacherous brain. _What do you want to see?_

It wasn’t like that! It wasn’t. _Couldn’t_ be. They were just pals, was all. Bros. Really good friends.

But just friends. Just...

He would have sworn in a court of law he’d never thought about Akira like this before today. But his filthy imagination was more than willing to supply him with _interesting_ images, and there they were, clamoring behind his eyelids: Akira untying that apron with a wolfish grin. Akira trailing him slyly in Mementos, stealing kisses left and right. Akira, eyes dark with lust and command, unbuckling his belt, shoving him to his knees on the Leblanc floor --

“Ryuji,” said a quiet voice from behind him, and Ryuji started so violently he kicked Akira in the shin.

“Oh _fuck_ , dude, I am so sorry,” he stammered, even he silently thanked god Akira couldn’t read minds _._

Of _course_ Akira had trailed him here. This was the icing on the cake of his unbelievably uncomfortable day. He couldn’t look Akira in the eye after -- after that, could he?

“No need,” said Akira, waving a lazy hand. “Are you alright?”

“Fine, yeah, but -- why are you _here_?!”

Out of all the things he wasn't expecting, for Akira to catch up with him and confront him was... definitely up there. And he wasn't even out of breath! What was fair about that?!

“I just wanted to talk,” Akira said serenely, as if they hadn’t just done some _shit_. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“I…” His brain seemed to have gone on holiday. Little flakes were collecting in Akira’s hair. He fought the urge to reach out and… and brush ‘em, or something, because that was _not_ going to help.

“I-I mean, I made it weird,” he said, more flustered than he’d ever been in his life. He just wanted -- to reset this day, or something. "And I... really value your friendship, dude, you’re our leader n’ my -- my best pal, so can we just -- uh -- forget about this whole thing?” He was practically pleading at this point.

“ _You_ made it weird?” said Akira.

“Yeah?” he said blankly.

Akira looked as though he might fall over.

“Ryuji,” he said, expression inscrutable, “I invited you over on _Valentine’s Day.”_

“Uh,” Ryuji said. _Like I’m going to forget what day it is,_ his entire brain screamed.

“Why do you think I did that?” Akira said, enunciating every syllable slowly enough for Ryuji’s brain to melt. “Why would _you_ do that, if you were me?”

“Wh -- that’s not --” he sputtered. “It was just to hang out! Like we always do!”

_“Ryuji --”_

“We hang out all the _time!_ A-and I wouldn’t have -- uh, I didn’t mean to -- shit, Akira -- “ _shit shit shit,_ why was he saying this out _loud,_ this was _so embarrassing,_ he could feel his cheeks flushing _\--_

They came to a full stop in the snow as Ryuji ransacked his brain for more excuses, something, _anything_ so he wouldn’t have to deal with this. And then he was in the snow somehow. They both were. He was in a snowbank with Akira Kurusu’s entire weight on top of him, but it didn’t feel bad at all. It felt _needed._

He hadn’t known it was possible to feel so heated in a snowbank _._ Akira was lithe and light and sparking with energy, the way he was staring at Ryuji now nothing short of _dangerous._ His glasses had flown off his face in the fall and into a nearby drift, and without them his stare was so piercing that Ryuji decided it was totally fine, no, fucking _mandatory_ that Akira wear those stupid glasses at all times. ‘Cause without them he looked so...

“Why you gotta _stare_ like that,” he croaked.

“Ryuji, shut _up,_ ” Akira said impassively, before wrapping his arms around Ryuji’s back and kissing him with a tenderness he’d never, not in a million years, imagined.

That shut him up. 

He could honestly say he’d never imagined kissing Akira. But the sensation was so good, so overwhelming, that the teenage fantasies of vaguely cute girls he’d entertained were driven clean outta his skull.

He was going to have exactly one fantasy from this point on. Somehow Akira’s tongue had slipped between Ryuji’s lips and pried open his mouth without him even noticing. Now he was deftly cradling the back of Ryuji’s head, pressing him deeper into the kiss until both of them were out of breath. _He’s so good at this,_ Ryuji thought, bewildered -- _where did he learn? and when?!_ \-- before giving up: it was Akira, after all, what the guy _didn’t_ know was beyond him, and this didn’t really seem like the time for thinking, not when Akira’s tongue was so insistent, not when he was busy melting into a thousand pleasurable sensations.

This was everything he hadn’t known he wanted. Akira tasted like his coffee, all bitterness and spice and _allure_. He could even taste the residual convenience-store chocolate on his lips. Ryuji had no idea what to do but it didn’t seem to matter: his eagerness seemed good enough for Akira as they kissed repeatedly and hungrily, flailing in the snow, and what got him most was stupidly suave Akira losing _his_ composure for once in his damn life, clutching Ryuji’s shirt and whimpering as Ryuji mouthed at him with absolutely no finesse.

When they parted to catch their breath Ryuji had no idea what to do with his eyes, or his hands, or his mouth. All he knew was that he didn’t want to stop tasting Akira.

“Ch-chocolate,” he stammered, wide-eyed.

“...what?”

“ …you -- you taste like chocolate, dude.”

And Akira -- _heroically aloof_ Akira -- smiled brightly and tenderly in response. _Wow._ He’d never seen Akira look at anyone like that before. He was almost thankful he couldn’t blush any harder.

“Come back to Leblanc,” Akira whispered. “With me.”

Ryuji balked. 

“ _Dude._ What is Sojiro gonna say?”

“Does it matter?”

“Or -- or _Mona?!”_

“We’ll figure it out.”

“I -- I _can’t,”_ he said, even though his lizard brain was screaming at him _yes you can, you idiot,_ “let’s -- some other time, yeah? Th-the trains are gonna stop running soon… plus I need some time just to, like…”

 _I gotta think,_ he mentally completed _. About this. About us. Because what the hell was today?!_

Akira gave him a long, searching look. And then he leapt up, dusted himself off, and put his glasses back on.

“Of course,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you around, then.”

A strange feeling settled over Ryuji as Akira turned and began to walk briskly up the alleyway. _I'll see you around._  It almost felt like something had… vanished from Akira’s voice when he said that. He wasn’t sure what, but it made his stomach knot uncomfortably; had he… done something wrong? What had he said?

He was _so confused_ , damn it. But if he’d done something, he had to fix it. Akira’d looked almost… sad.

“Oy, _Akira_ ,” Ryuji yelled, and there was a pause a little too long to be natural before Akira stopped walking.

He didn’t turn around. Just tilted his head ever so slightly. _He’s waiting for me to say something,_ Ryuji realized. _I can’t fuck this up._

“...Happy Valentine’s,” he said, _incredibly lamely._  

 _Now_ Akira turned his head sharply and fixed him with a sharp stare. He held that stare for a long, long moment, during which Ryuji thought his heart might stop beating. Then Akira flashed him a positively _predatory_ grin -- and was gone, disappearing up the alleyway in a flash.

Ryuji’s legs were shaking. He sagged against the alley wall to steady himself.

That grin made him weak at the knees. If he were being completely truthful with himself, maybe it had always made him weak.

Ryuji groaned.

_Goddamnit._

 

* * *

  

 _ann_  
_ann are you there  
this is VERY IMPORTANT_

_Hey!!!  
Sorry. Had to take care of something. _

_or someone_

_Or someone. ;)_

_oh my god you werent supposed to respond to that_  
_dont tell me_  
_makoto_  
_definitely makoto_  
_or wait HARU  
man just tell me ok i aint gonna judge _

_Uhhh.  
Some assumptions you’re making, Ryuji!!!  _

_cmon dude you went out with shiho for all of freshman year  
how dense can a guy be _

_Okay well firstly, you can definitely be pretty dense.  
Also I like boys too!!! _

_you do huh_

_Yeah!  
Some boys. Sometimes. _

_name one_

_Uh._  
_Well... Akira’s pretty cute, right?  
Maybe I was with him just now. ;)_

_funnily enough no_

_Lol, how would you know?_  
_Wait.  
Oh my god.  _

 _NO ITS NOT LIKE THAT its just_  
_funny you should mention_  
_akira of all people_  
_you arent his type we talked about this remember  
on the school trip_

 _True._  
_But come on, Ryuji.  
That pause was *incriminating.*_

 _and also youre not his type because_  
_he uh_  
_how do i say it_  
_bats for the other team_  
_which i learned like_  
_an hour ago_  
_in the most awkward way possible_  
_hfjdjsjk whered you go  
why m i still typing_

_Oh my god._

_so uh  
thats why _

_You can’t be serious._  
_Our leader is into YOU?_  
_Ryuji Sakamoto, certified delinquent??  
??????????????  _

_ann please you dont gotta be so blunt about it_

_He bats for Team Ryuji??????????_

_ok SERIOUSLY DONT PHRASE IT LIKE THAT_

_Wait._  
_Did you... did you turn him down?!_  
_You. Turned down. Akira Kurusu?  
Do you realize what you have done? _

_you tell me_

_It’s just that… turning that boy down is unfathomable._  
_He’s beauty. He’s grace. He’s got guts, and charm, and…_  
_I dunno. Kindness._  
_That didn’t really have the ring to it I wanted but whatever._  
_Literally everyone is at least a little bit in love with him._  
_Even freaking Yusuke.  
Actually definitely Yusuke. But moving on.  _

 _uhh well thanks for that need to know info about art boy_  
_surprised he ever thinks about anything besides painting but whatever man_  
_also how everyone is everyone???_  
_like what about say_  
_up and coming vague model ann takamaki  
what does she have to say about all this_

 _Um, duh. Obviously!_  
_C’mon, Ryuji. If Akira asked me out right now…_  
_If he so much as looked in my direction…  
I’d leap into bed with him. No questions asked. :-)_

_ANN WTF_

_I’m kidding._  
_Really, I’m just telling it like it is. That boy is perfect._  
_Sigh!  
If it weren’t for Makoto... _

 _SO IT IS MAKOTO_  
_i shouldve known when her grades dropped_  
_i cant believe this_  
_you sly fox_  
_panther  
whatever _

_Don’t change the subject._

_and anyway who said anything about turnin him down_

_Um._  
_Well... I was pretty sure you were Not Into Boys._  
_On account of you saying so, like, last week? And also all the time?  
And in case you hadn’t noticed, Akira is a boy. _

_I WAS TOO_

_But?_

_but_  
_uh_  
_i might bat for team akira_  
_maybe_  
_im not sure_  
_so_

_What._

_also hes an insanely good kisser what the hell_

_!!!!!  
Oh my god._

_ITS COMPLICATED_

_This is too much._  
_Okay just stop texting me I’m coming over right now.  
WE ARE GOING TO DISSECT THIS VERY THOROUGHLY OKAY RYUJI_

_thanks mom_

**Author's Note:**

> i was gonna edit this more but i'm sick of it so!! enjoy...  
> as you can tell by the ending this story may not be over ... there uh ... there might be more ... fic in this timeline. we'll find out...
> 
> come be my pal / yell at me on tumblr [@yongermain](http://yongermain.tumblr.com) !! so my non-persona pals get me to shut up ;_; and also bc i love people... yes


End file.
